After John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison met each other in the late 1950s, coming together for the latter’s skiffle band The Quarrymen, the world would never be the same. The band faced two notable lineup changes: first, with former bassist Stuart Sutcliffe departing for art school, and then with manager Brian Epstein booting drummer Pete Best in favor of Ringo Starr — and The Beatles as the world knows them were born.
After two years of diligently working and releasing singles, The Beatles made their debut in America, appearing on the The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, 1964, to an estimated audience of 73 million, and performed five songs — “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”; the performance would change the trajectory of their career. Just two months after The Beatles’ appearance on the show, the group dominated the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first act ever to occupy the top five spots on the chart, and giving birth to Beatlemania in the process.
The remainder of the ’60s would continue to be successful for the band, as it released three movies, sent 13 albums to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and played one of the first stadium concerts in the United States. Of course, The Beatles’ history isn’t without bumps in the road — see their retirement from touring, bubbling tensions toward final album Let It Be or Lennon’s persecution by the FBI — but the soaring highs firmly cemented the group in rock n’ roll history.
From the Beatlemania of the 1960s and the band’s long streak of No. 1s, to the post breakup years and the release of the group’s final single, “Now and Then,” Billboard takes a look back at The Beatles’ most memorable moments below.
July 1957: McCartney Meets Lennon
Paul McCartney, 15, joined the Quarrymen, a skiffle band led by 16-year-old John Lennon. The following March, 15-year-old George Harrison joined as lead guitarist. With Stuart Sutcliffe joining on bass in 1960, the band becomes known as the Beatals, which he suggested in honor of Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
Summer 1960: ‘The Beatles’ Finds Its Name
After a short stint as the Silver Beatles, the band finally settled on The Beatles as its name, booked a residency in Hamburg, Germany, and filled out its lineup by hiring drummer Pete Best. During the group’s second stint in the city, all adopt Sutcliffe’s new mop-top hairstyle. McCartney later takes over bass duties when Sutcliffe quits to return to art school.
August 1962: Ringo Starr Joins the Band
After getting rejected by the Decca label, which told Brian Epstein that “guitar groups are on the way out,” The Beatles get signed by George Martin to Parlophone, a sub-label of EMI. The producer disapproved of Best’s performance during a record session, leading to the firing of the drummer in August 1962. They soon hire Ringo Starr, the drummer for fellow Liverpool band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.
August 1962: Fans Protest Best’s Firing
Fans of Best hold vigils outside of his house and protest his removal from the band during The Beatles’ appearance at the Cavern Club. Harrison sustains a black eye from an angry fan and Epstein hires security for the group.
